The national science policy should be based on the aspirations and provisions of the development plans. The present policy reiterates the programmes contained in the Fourth Development Plan (1979 /83) and goes further in identifying the principal areas of national activity in which better planning and utilization of science and technology hold promise in enl1ancing national development. The central problems of the Republic, namely, creation of income earning opportunities, improvement of expenditure patterns, provisions of basic needs and institution building, all of which are designed into alleviate poverty, must be tackled in a comprehensive and 'correlated manner. The main objective of alleviating poverty necessitates a Do-ordinated and complementary interface between science and technology policy on the one hand, and policies for encouraging savings habits, wealth creation and redistribution, on the other. There are many procedures where science and technology can contribute to the alleviation of poverty, especially by providing settings for increased production that will help in the provision of basic needs...